Durant had one. Without turning, he said, “What’ll you tell the neighbors you’re working on, Booth?”
“Nothing. By that I mean I’ll tell them I’m resting from my labors in Amman while my associates at Wudu, Limited, negotiate a confidential research project in L.A.”
“Good,” Durant said and continued his inspection of the ocean.
“As I mentioned earlier,” Wu said, “Quincy and I are meeting with Ione Gamble at five. Howard Mott’ll also be present. I should add he’s associated himself with one of the old downtown law firms, which enables him to represent Gamble in California. Her personal attorney, Jack Broach—who’s also her business manager and agent—may be at the five o’clock meeting. I’ll spell Broach for you.”
After spelling it, Wu looked at Georgia Blue and said, “Check him out, Georgia.”
“Something specific or all the way?”
“All the way.”
Wu next turned to Overby. “Otherguy, I want you to begin the hunt for the missing hypnotists. Quincy managed to locate one of the Goodisons’ promotional leaflets that has photos of them. He also talked to an ex-Paddington Police Station detective, a woman, who gave him a rundown on their habits and peculiarities. It’s all in a memo he wrote.”
“He already gave me a copy,” Overby said.
“Good. After Georgia does Jack Broach, she’ll join you in the hunt for the Goodisons.”
“How much time’ve we got?” Overby said.
“Not much. Mott says the trial date is set for March twenty-third in Santa Monica Superior Court. He hopes he can get a continuance, but he’s worried that if it does come to trial, she’ll lose.”
“Does anybody know of any connection between this dead guy Rice and the Goodisons?” Overby said.
“None that I know of,” Wu said. “But it won’t hurt to look for one.”
“What if we find the Goodisons dead?” Georgia Blue asked.
Wu thought for a moment. “Then our job’s done—unless Enno Glimm says otherwise.”
“And what if,” Durant said, still staring at the ocean, “we stumble across something that indicates Ione Gamble killed Rice and had something to do with the Goodisons’ disappearance?”
Before Wu could reply, Overby said, “We could sell it and retire—all of us.”
Wu sighed. “That’s a bit raw—even for you, Otherguy.”
“Don’t tell me it didn’t cross your mind, Artie.”
Wu sighed again and said, “I think we should proceed from two assumptions, the first being that the Goodisons are alive, but in hiding, maybe of their own volition, maybe not. Our second assumption is that Ione Gamble didn’t kill William Rice. Since the cops have gone at her from the opposite direction, there’s a slight possibility that our approach will turn up something new and even exculpatory— although I really don’t have much hope.”
There was a brief silence as he looked at each of them, taking his time, especially when his gaze reached Durant’s back. Wu was still staring at it when he said, “Anything else?”
“We need more cars,” said Overby.
“There’s a Budget place just down the highway,” Stallings said. “We can rent what we need there.”
“Anything else?” Wu said.
After a somewhat longer silence, Georgia Blue said, “One thing bothers me. It’s about the two hypnotists—the Goodisons. Under California law, the testimony of any witness who’s been hypnotized is considered tainted. So why did Mott send all the way to London for a pair of hypnotists if he knew that Ione Gamble, once hypnotized, couldn’t testify in her own defense?”
Durant, still staring at the ocean, said, “That’s the second question I’ll ask Mott.”
“What’s the first?” she said.
“Why he imported two bent hypnotists.”
“Maybe he didn’t know they were bent.”
“That’s my third question,” Durant said. “Why didn’t he?”
Fourteen
Artie Wu brought the Lincoln Town Car to an abrupt nose-bobbing stop in front of Ione Gamble’s house on Adelaide Drive at 4:56 P.M.
Durant made no move to get out and instead stared at the house as if it sheltered six of his worst enemies.
“Don’t much care for Spanish Colonial?” Wu said.
“It’s your rotten driving I don’t care for. Question: why is a ride with you like an IRS audit? Answer: because I know it’ll end in disaster.”
“We arrived safely.”
“By God’s grace.”
“What’s really bugging you?”
